When multi-discipline cycling star Fem van Empel abruptly paused her professional career six months ago, it sent shockwaves through the cycling community, leaving many wondering if the young talent would ever return to the peloton.Now, half a year into her indefinite hiatus, the 23-year-old Dutch r...

NTA also says Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme is not compatible with BusConnects plan.A local group opposed to the Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme in Dublin has posted a video claiming that Puffin crossings would make a junction or possible roundabout less safe, but research shows that these crossings are safer. The video was posted two days ago on Facebook by Tallaght Community Council a volunteer group unconnected to official local government ahead of councillors on South Dublin County Council voting on the project at their June 2026 Council Meeting, which is to be held today, Monday, June 8th at 3:30pm.The person in the video spends a considerable amount of time claiming that planned measures in the project including wider footpaths and traffic calming, which are widely seen as making streets more accessible would make them less accessible. While Puffin crossings are uncommon in Ireland, this crossing type is widely used in the UK and is designed with more accessible features than the standard signalised pedestrian crossings in Ireland, known as Pelican crossings.Puffin crossings are a more intelligent type of signal-controlled pedestrian crossing. A key difference is the inclusion of sensors that detect when pedestrians are on the road and a system that adjusts the traffic light sequence in real time this is especially important for disabled or older people who may need more time to cross the road. The use of sensors in this way solves one of the main issues older and less mobile pedestrians have with the green man time running out as they slowly cross the road. For motorists, cyclists, and buses, there is also a benefit when sensors detect that all pedestrians have cleared the crossing or where people have crossed before the green man is shown; the pedestrian phase is cancelled. The video posted on Facebook includes the complaint that the far side pedestrian lights are removed on Puffin crossings. This is the case on Puffin crossings in the UK, but examples of photos and drawings of Puffin crossings by the national roads authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, include retaining the far-side lights.South Dublin County Councils Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme consultation page does not include a high level of detail on the type of crossings to be used.The consultation documents show that two options for the main junction that features in the video that of Greenhills Road and Main Street. One option would be a smaller junction, and the other would include a mini-roundabout, with both including signalised crossings. IMAGE: A draft outline of the two options proposed both include signalised crossings. A report by UK-based TRL, a transport research consultant, for the UK Department for Transport found statistically significant safety benefits after the conversion of crossings to Puffins. They found a significant safety benefit for both pedestrian and vehicle users.The report said: In conclusion, Puffin crossings, when installed and operating in general conformance to the current guidelines, have been shown provide significant safety benefits over Pelican crossings. After conversion to Puffin from Pelican crossings, injury accident frequency for the sample assessed reduced by an average of 17%, and the combined accident data for mid-block crossing and junction conversions showed a 19% reduction, both results are statistically significant at the 5% level.NTA says project departs from BusConnects plansThe National Transport Authority has also taken issue with the Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme a submission outlines that, while the body supports public realm improvements, the plans as published conflict with the BusConnects plan for the streets covered by the councils Part 8 plan.The NTA already has planning permission for the Tallaght / Clondalkin Core Bus Corridor, and it has the legal powers to build the project. There are significant differences between the two plans, including where each removes or retains car parking and where each includes a bus gate with the BusConnects plan including a bus gate at the junction of the Old Greenhills Road and Greenhills Road, while the South Dublin County Council plan includes a bus gate on Main Street between its junctions of Old Greenhills Road and Greenhills Road.IMAGE: The BusConnects bus gate location is shown in green, while the SDCC bus gate location is shown in red. In the submission on behalf of the NTA, David Clements, a senior land use and transport planner with the national body, said: the NTA is of the view that South Dublin County Council are bound by the Development Plan to support and facilitate BusConnects, including the permitted Tallaght / Clondalkin CBC and improvements to the service network. Any proposed development which departs from the permitted CBC Scheme and any project which would potentially adversely impact public transport services in Tallaght would therefore be regarded by the NTA as potentially misaligned with the County Development Plan.He said that the NTA liaised closely with the council in advance of the publication of the Part 8 scheme, but the authority is of the view that the plans are not fully compatible its BusConnects scheme and should not proceed in its current form.The issues raised include the planning report not mentioning BusConnects, the bus stop locations being incompatible, the bus gate being different, the likelihood of rat running via the Priory car park, if the junction narrowing was done in a way that fully accounted for buses, and the inclusion of throttle gates, a type of chicane traffic calming, because of their potential to delay buses.Clements said: The narrowing of the carriageway to one lane on Main Street via to facilitate placemaking and greening would compromise bus and cycle movements. Buses travelling in opposite directions would be required to give way to each other without traffic signals. This may cause conflict and delay. Furthermore, similar conflicts involving cyclists and buses could lead to significant safety issues. These issues are compounded by the placement of a loading bay immediately in advance of the westernmost throttle gate, which would impact on forward visibility at this point if in use by large goods vehicles.He said it is unclear whether the carriageway is vertically segregated from the footpaths, as no cross-sections have been published.On this point, Clements added: However, reference is made to flush kerbs and the use of footpath and carriageway material palettes of similar colour tones. In the absence of an assurance that bus traffic and other local motorised traffic would be physically segregated from the footpath by kerbs, the NTA has serious concerns from a road safety perspective, particularly with the throttle gate design where vehicles may inadvertently traverse the pedestrian area.

A long day and one for the breakaway.Stage 1 review: the win for Alex Baudin, he went in the early breakaway with eight others and the group struggled to get more than two minutes with Decathlon-CMA CGM leading the chase although reduced by one rider when Matthew Riccitello abandoned, struck with food poisoning. The escapees looked doomed going into the final climb.Baudin rode away from his companions and crucially did not lose any time on the chasing bunch. The big teams set a strong pace up the climb and dropped plenty but no squad would use up their riders. Baudin was out of reach as long as the main contenders watched each other.He landed his biggest win, after taking the tricky Tour du Limousin before and is now building a palmars when before he was noted for being disqualified from the Giro following a Tramadol test, an outcome that was never explained.One back to the valley floor the group saw attacks fly and riders profiting from the lack of control, notably Netcompany pair Oscar Onley and Kvin Vauquelin. Lidl-Trek missed the moves completely and Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso made some big moves to chase, Paul Seixas had Lo Bisiaux up the road but later on joined in the chase and his effort along with Ayuso seemed to shrink the gap and being 30 seconds behind at one point it was down to 12 on the line led home with a powerful sprint by Isaac Del Toro.The Route: 234km and 3,800m of vertical gain. This amount of climbing is worthy of a mountain stage but todays route has nothing too severe, instead the distance over a long course just means the climbing adds up. The route sticks to hilly terrain, avoiding valley roads and plains.The Col du Chatain at the start is the hardest climb of the day, irregular and on a narrow road. The next climb is more gentle amid farmland. Then its across to the Rhone valley.The Col Robert Marchand is the subject of todays postcard and comes mid-way between the Rhone valley floor and the unmarked Col des Barraques, this is about 50km of climbing and if its rarely steep, its long period of load on the pedals.The Cte des Baraques is a tough climb with 200km done, theres 3km at 8.5%.The final climb through Saint-Vidal is irregular with some steep sections but all open, its less about ambush and who has any force left.The Finish: a scenic run through Le Puy-en-Velay and flat.The Contenders: this is probably a day for the breakaway but several team have a house sprinter who could win today, think Dorian Godon (Netcompany), Wout van Aert (Visma-LAB), Benot Cosnefroy (UAE) and Michael Matthews (Jayco) so well if they go in the breakaway or if not whether their teams want to chase for five hours. All these names can infiltrate the break and win from there too.Otherwise take a pick from breakaway candidates who are no threats to the GC contenders. A stage winner last year, Ivan Romeo (Movistar) is suited to this course, likewise team mate Pablo Castrillo. Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarch) is a breakaway specialist but this is a hilly day and hes not a prolific winner nor is his team. By contrast Georg Steinhauser (EF) can win from here but will he be needed to defend Baudins yellow jersey, likewise Ben Healy? The course suits Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)Cosnefroy, Van AertGodon, SimmonsFF-B, Romeo, Matthews, Kron, GovekarWeather: sunshine and 25C along the way but with a good chance of a downpour and thunderstorm towards the finish.TV: KM0 is at 11.30am and the finish is due for 5.00pm.Postcard from Saint-FlicienMidway today theres the Col Robert Marchand, a mountain pass named in tribute to Robert Marchand who among many things, set an hour record at the age of 102. He was a racer from the start, as a boy he had to pretend he was older in order to be able to start his first race.As an adult he took up gymnastics and became French champion in one discipline. A firefighter, time spent in Venezuela and the Caribbean planting sugar cane, a lumberjack in Canada, he led a colourful life. But it was in retirement that he became famous when he took up cycling again at the age of 67 and started doing various long distance cyclosportif events.One of these was the Ardchoise where he made his debut at the age of 88 and he became a sort of mascot of the event. Such that he got to enjoy a mountain pass being named after him in 2011. But the moment was spoiled when riding to the commemoration as a truck clipped the Ardchoises co-founder Grard Mistler, who swerved and took out Marchand. The 99 year old fell hard needing 17 stitches. He resumed cycling but after the crash decided to limit himself to 100km a day.Embed from Getty ImagesAt the age of 100 and then 102 he set hour records on the track, reaching 26.925 in 2014. This was a side-project, born out of a challenge to see how far he could ride on a static bike in his home on his 100th birthday. He kept on riding for more years and considered a fresh attempt at hour record at the age of 107 but this was not an official attempt, in part because the UCI did not want to be responsible for an event with a 107 year old and any health issues but he still lapped the velodrome and in front of big audience. He died in May 2021 at the age of 109. Grard Mistler put his longevity down to physical upkeep, mental upkeep and optimism.The Col Robert Marchand climbed today was easy to rename. It is not a new road, instead it had long been Col du Marchand, literally Merchants Past, suggesting a long-established trade route to and from Saint-Flicien. It doesnt show easily in the photo above but squint and you can see the old Col du Marchand sign on the left and on the right, set in fresh concrete, is the Col Robert Marchand sign. Its a fitting tribute especially as he was born in 1911 and the pass sits at 911m but also opens up the possibility of renaming other mountain passes. But itll be a while before we get a story as remarkable as Robert Marchand.The post Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes Stage 2 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

Frenchman offering three-night stay at his home with barbecue and helicopter ride

Following an exceptional breakthrough performance last year where he secured tenth place overall at the Tour de France, Jordan Jegat has found himself at the center of intense transfer market speculation. With his current team, TotalEnergies, still searching for a secure primary sponsor for the 2027...

The Remco Bike Lift came into my workshop late last fall, and things havent been the same. Ive since worked on a few bikes outside on a sunny day, plus at some races on my favorite folding workstand. But everything thats been worked on in my shop in the past half a year has been magically lifted off the ground by this little monster.I have to preface this review by saying, Of course, you dont really need a repair stand that lifts your bike off the ground for you. But, oh man, this is seriously a game-changer! Remco Bike Lift electric telescoping bicycle repair stand(All photos/Cory Benson)The electric Remco Bike Lift is undeniably an extravagance. Last December, I gave the workstand an Editors Choice award in the Tools category for its day-to-day functionality. Yes, it is very expensive. The other tool I awarded at that same time late last year, for changing how I work on bikes, was a $140 / 115 mini inflator. That one is still expensive for pumping up a tire, but its still less than 1/10 of what this robo-stand would cost. You see, the complete Remco Bike Lift setup in my exact configuration with all the trimmings retails for $1402 / 1551. But the, albeit still expensive, pricing is quite a bit more complex than that.Since it uses a modular construction, you only have to buy the parts you need. So if are a bike shop that already has a pro workstand and base (or you are bolting it to the floor), realistic pricing starts around $744/840. Even home mechanics, who have an existing Feedback, Park, Unior workstand (the list goes on) with a high-quality clamp head, will likely be able to get out much cheaper than my complete newbie setup.Heavy-duty eBike-rated, up to 45kgTo be fair, I already had a portable stand with a lighter Unior clamp, but opted for the heavy-duty Unior Master Shop Clamp to get the max load rating that the Remco Bike Lift can provide. Topping out at 45kg (100lb), thats more than enough to pick-up the heaviest ebikes we generally test. Most performance eMTBs we review typically fall in the 20-25kg range. But it also meant I could safely work on my heavier long-john-style Hagen cargo ebike. And things like the silly, heavy Engwe commuter ebike were still running around to get groceries and take out the recyclables four years later than we thought it would survive. Put simply, this is a heavy-duty telescoping bicycle repair stand with an electric motor inside that lifts everything from your UCI-illegal road bike, up to your gravity-ready full-powered enduro ebike all at the press of a button. It will essentially lift any type of bike, so you dont have to. The heavier the better I say. Or rather, its even better with the heavier ones.Tech Details & My Personal SetupThe Remco Bike Lift debuted about 2.5 years ago as a solution for bike shops working on more and more heavy bikes & ebikes. The concept was simply that the key electric-lifting column couple be swapped in, replacing existing workshop stand setups with relatively minimal cost keeping existing base and clamp solutions.The lift works thanks to a linear actuator inside that extends 65cm (25.6). Thats generally enough to pick up bikes off the ground by the seatpost at/above the seatpost clamp, and lift them high enough to work at eye level. Position 1 is the bottom and 3 is the top, and you can program 2 anywhere in between, as you prefer. I have 2 set at 16cm below top-out, as thats my typically ideal height for working on drivetrains and brakes.According to the official Remco Bike Lift drawings, the lowest working height for the center of the clamp would be 86.6cm (34) off the ground. But with most mountain bikes and eMTBs featuring sloping geometry and long-travel droppers, I found that to be not quite low enough. Real dimensions & travel(Image/Remco)Luckily, a closer look at the official Min & Max heights tells a slightly different story. The Chuck Adapter (the small vertical stub thats attached on top of the orange lift control box) has two mounting positions, and the lower one is 6.5cm down. Thats the one I opted for, giving me a more ideal low position of 80cm off the ground, and still 143.5cm at top out. Ultimately, the display then reads 3cm higher than the top of my clamp. But since its just an approximate representation of where the Bike Lift is in its full travel (85.5-149 on screen), its still a helpful guide.Some mechanics will prefer the higher position. And theres also an optional base extension to make it even higher. But I prefer the low setup.A bit more detailed pricing breakdown of having everything in one placePrice is a major point here, obviously. (Because this is a big outlay, whether its an investment for ease or workability in a pro shop, or just a very serious upgrade for the home mechanic!)But so is getting your repair & maintenance setup perfectly dialed to improve efficiency, right?Modular, means only buy what you need and re-use the workstand clamp you have. But it still isnt cheap. This really is still meant to be a pro bike shop repair stand for everyday mechanics who need to work on heavy ebikes. But as more $15,000+ road, gravel, mountain & high-powered ebikes get sold (or even just the still-expensive $8-9k ones!), it starts to make sense that more people are going to buy fancy repair stands to take some of the work out of working on your bike, even at home. Plenty of amateur shade-tree mechanics already buy premium-quality professional tools. Why not a pro work stand, too? And if you go shopping for a pro-level repair stand, youll quickly find that you could easily spend 600-900 dollars or euros on one of those. And youd still have to lift every bike into it. So why not go all the way!A close look at my setupIf we break it down, my setup looks like this:$744 / 849 for the Remco Bike Lift itself, includes the attachment for Pro Clamps like this Unior one.This is the core element that literally does all the heavy lifting.$209 / 210 for the Unior Master shop clamp If you already have a workstand to upgrade, you wont need this. Plus, there are more affordable clamps available, too. But this one is solid secure, rated for 45kg, and made strong 100% in the EU. $220 / 302 for the Base Plate, because a heavy chunk of steel is just worth a lot. But, bolt the stand to the floor of your workshop and save a bunch of cash.The $120 Tool Tray is a must in my eyes; this is what lets you customize the setup for how you work. I drilled out a few tiny holes to mount my commonly-used pick tools, and added some hangers for a small bolts holder, an extra wrench, a rotor checker, and an electric inflator.And the $79 Rapid USB Charger is also a must-have in these days where so many bikes have batteries to keep charged! Remco wants you to mount it low on the side of the controller. But I drilled a hole in the plastic top cap of the Chuck Adapter stub, and it is more easily accessible, and can even pivot side-to-side, as needed.The negatives (besides price)One of the only real pain points Ive experienced with the Remco Bike Lift is that I wished it had a standard outlet to plug in proprietary chargers or a tablet/laptop. The only power output it has on the stand is a non-standard plug for Remcos own USB changer. I started without the charger, but after a month I realized that I needed it. And it has made all the difference charging AXS & Di2 batteries, a flashlight for peering inside frames, and mini inflators, so I dont have to pump up tires manually in the workshop anymore.Because modern light eMTBs still arent that lightSince last fall, I have been servicing & maintaining dozens of European Bikerumor test bikes on this stand including cleaning, packing & returning several test bikes at the end of 2025, and then some pretty major winter servicing on all of our long-term and my familys personal mountain bikes throughout the spring. Among that, thereve been, I think, 6 ebikes in that time. None of them exceptionally light weight. Even top-tier modern trail, all-mountain, and enduro bikes today are often 1-2kg heavier than previous generation. When you start adding wider tires, wider wheels, electronic everything everywhere with extra batteries, and internal frame storage that invariably means all the bikes are equipped with spare tubes, multi-tools, tire repair tools, and maybe even a pump at all times. More modern bikes are more capable and more convenient just not lighter.And oh, how glorious it is to have this little orange beauty picking all of those bikes up and putting them back down, over and over. After I first preset my ideal working height, I just roll the bike up to the Remco Lift, clamp its seatpost, hit 2, and walk away. It seems completely silly to me. But it is somehow freeing to not lift heavy bikes of the ground, and spend those maybe ten seconds, finding any specialized tools I might need to get ready. Or, I just lift the bike up to a nice working height, while I set myself to another task like seating & inflating a new tubeless tire.And positioning the bike for each task is so much better!The thing that has most surprised me, is that I now move the bike up and down in the stand maybe 3 or 4 times while Im working on it. I never used to do that with a conventional repair stand, even with a regular bike. And especially not a heavier ebike that usually weighs well over 20kg. I would often spin the bike in the stand, but never re-lift it. It just wasnt worth the extra effort. But now, when I move from adjusting a derailleur, to installing a bottle cage, to adjusting a brake lever clamp, to removing a rear shock, to routing a new internal dropper cable, to simply cleaning and lubing a chain. Each time, I move the bike up or down, maybe just 5 or 10cm to a height that feels perfect. So now, Im also more likely to pull up a stool for a task that might take longer, like installing a new chainring or cleaning out a T-type cassette packed with autumn leaves or spring grasses.Because it is so little effort to move the bike up and down centimeter by centimeter, now I move it much more often. So it is at the perfect height for whatever task is at hand.Parting thoughtsYes, it is expensive. So are all the damn bikes these days.But, the Remco Bike Lift has genuinely changed how I work on bikes. I didnt think lifting bikes into a stand was that difficult, until I didnt have to do it anymore. And I didnt even mention how much easier (and pain-free) it was to service bikes in those days in the workshop when I couldnt ride much after a minor shoulder injury. I also hadnt ever really appreciated how much more comfortable it could be to adjust the bike for each and every different maintenance task at hand.Yes, the Remco Bike Lift is expensive. But you should totally drool over it, just like you lust over the next, best new road or gravel or mountain bike that well write about this week or next. And if you regularly work a lot on bikes and its within your budget I can assure that youll appreciate this more advanced workstand.Im never going back to lifting every bike I work on into the repair stand.RemcoTools.comThe post Review: Electric Remco Bike Lift is the Luxury I Didnt Know My Home Workshop Needed appeared first on Bikerumor.

As professional cycling struggles with skyrocketing operational costs and a widening wealth gap between the sport's elite squads and the rest of the peloton, the push for financial regulation is increasing. Brent Copeland, the general manager of Team Jayco AlUla and president of the International As...

The Tour Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes has long built its reputation on attrition as much as spectacle. From the 7th to 14 of June, crashes, illness, exhaustion, and withdrawals can completely reshape the race, whether in chaotic bunch sprints, freezing mountain conditions or much more. This live Tour Auver...

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